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LANSING – The Michigan Legislature is planning extraordinary measures — including taking lawmakers' temperatures before they enter the chambers — to limit the risk of anyone contracting coronavirus when lawmakers convene Tuesday, officials said Thursday.

Senators will be evaluated and screened when they enter the Capitol to make sure they don’t have a fever, said Amber McCann, a spokeswoman for Senate Majority Leader Mike Shirkey, R-Clarklake.

The same will happen with members of the public who want to view from the public gallery, said McCann, who added that the public is not encouraged to attend but would be allowed to do so, according to state law.

The Legislature has canceled recent sessions because of the coronavirus pandemic, but plans to meet Tuesday to vote on extending Gov. Gretchen Whitmer's emergency declaration, which is set to expire Tuesday, and possibly her disaster declaration, which was issued Wednesday. Whitmer has asked for a 70-day extension of each declaration, but many Republican lawmakers say 70 days would be too long.

A few senators at a time will be allowed in to the chamber for attendance roll call, she said. Once that roll call is taken and there is a quorum of at least 20 members present, a simple voice vote on the resolution to extend the emergency declaration will be taken.

“There will be very few people on the floor for the actual vote," McCann said. “This is not the traditional session by any means,” she said. “And we’re still in a troubleshooting phase on how this will happen, so there may be tweaks.”

Gideon D'Assandro, a spokesman for House Speaker Lee Chatfield, R-Levering, said the House also has a plan to extend the emergency declaration and minimize exposure, but “some of the details are still being worked out.”

Whitmer, at a Thursday news conference, urged state lawmakers not to come to the Capitol on Tuesday, saying it is too dangerous to convene a session during the coronavirus pandemic.

Whitmer noted that one member of the Legislature, Democratic state Rep. Isaac Robinson of Detroit, has already died of apparent complications from COVID-19.

But she later clarified her remarks through a spokeswoman, saying lawmakers should convene briefly and in a safe manner to extend her emergency and disaster orders, and then return to their districts.

"They should come in, extend (the orders) 70 days, and return to their communities like the rest of us are doing to keep the public safe," spokeswoman Tiffany Brown said.

Because she made a new disaster declaration on Wednesday, Whitmer can continue to exercise emergency powers for another 28 days from Wednesday without the need for the Legislature to convene and vote on a resolution to extend the emergency or the disaster.

She also has powers under the Emergency Powers of the Governor Act to continue to act unilaterally, even without an extension from lawmakers.

So her request to the Legislature to extend her emergency and disaster orders by 70 days does not require immediate action.

Brown said Whitmer "is highly concerned about the Republican leaders' proposals that would needlessly have the Legislature convene every few weeks to renew the emergency declaration."

A 70-day extension "is consistent with past emergency declarations and will make sure we have the tools we need to protect public health and save lives," Brown said.

The Senate leadership is still in negotiations on how long the extension will last, she said. Shirkey is looking more at what’s happening on the national level, which is currently to end the emergency by the end of April, she said.

"We should extend the emergency long enough to do what is needed to keep people safe, but adapt to circumstances that are changing pretty rapidly.”

Several Republican state lawmakers said Whitmer's proposed 70-day extension is far too long.

State Rep. Jason Sheppard, R-Temperance, said the situation with the virus "is ever-changing, and 10 weeks is far too long to go without legislative review."

"It would be much more responsible to re-examine the need for an emergency declaration every two weeks, so we can make decisions based on up-to-date information," Sheppard said in a news release.

State Rep. James Lower, R-Cedar Springs, said on Twitter that Whitmer’s request to stay away from Lansing will not happen.

“We have these checks & balances for a reason. We'll be in on 4-7,” he tweeted.

House Minority Leader Christine Greig, D-Farmington Hills, said she is "deeply concerned" by GOP statements that they do not intend to approve a full 70-day extension.

As Chatfield said earlier, the governor is in the best position, with the advice of health professionals, to know the best action to take, Greig said.

"The Legislature should stand beside her with bipartisan support for the requested 70-day extension.”

Following the death of Robinson, no other legislator or staffer has tested positive for the virus as of Wednesday, said D'Assandro and McCann.

It's not clear whether the Legislature could legally hold a remote session — through videoconference, for example — as long as it provided for public access.

What is clear is that such a thing has never happened before.

Michigan's constitution says the Legislature "shall meet at the seat of government," which is Lansing. But the constitution also says the Legislature can meet at "some other place" if Lansing becomes dangerous, for any reason.

The Lansing newsletter Gongwer reported this week that some experts interpret that to mean that a video meeting could pass legal muster, but that the logistical and technological problems associated with making such a meeting happen on relatively short notice could still pose a major challenge.

State Rep. Abdullah Hammoud, D-Dearborn, said he just emerged from a self-imposed, 14-day quarantine, because he is a seatmate to state Rep. Tyrone Carter, D-Detroit, who tested positive for coronavirus before Robinson's death, and he doesn’t think it’s a good idea for the Legislature to return to the Capitol next week.

“I’m not sure what the likelihood is at this point. Will they even have enough for a quorum because many people are scared?” he said.

“We have to take all the necessary precautions if we gather in such a large group. The last thing we want is to have members going back to their districts and creating new clusters all across the state.”